Naruto: Zenkoku
by MakeYouSmile
Summary: With Uzumaki Naruto as the 7th Hokage and the newly created Zenkoku Team, peace has settled over the Continent. New ninjas are blossoming as well as new alliances and technologies. But new friends come with new foes. Next Generation
1. It Begins

Uzumaki Naruto, seventh Hokage, rested his cheek against his knuckle as he stifled a yawn. Sabaku no Gaara, the fifth Kazekage, noticed, of course, and glanced over at his contemporary. Ei, the fourth Raikage, sat with boredom at one of the opposite ends of the table. Terumi Meii, the fifth Mizukage, tapped her nails impatiently against the long, wooden table that the five Kages were seated at. Finally, Oonoki, the third Tsuchikage, entered the conference room in his home village of Iwa and took his rightful place at the other head of the table, opposite to Ei.

"Let's get to it, then."

"This threat is a bluff! The Hakaisha is a myth, an urban legend. There has been no evidence of this summon even existing!" Ei always started out strong whenever the Kages arranged to meet in person. He liked to assert his dominance, especially over the two rookies, Naruto and Gaara.

"On the contrary, Raikage," Oonoki drawled, "the Iwagakure Library has evidence of the Hakaisha summon."

"Oonoki, it's just a scrap of paper." Meii spoke up coolly, "It looks like it was written by a child."

"Evidence is evidence." The Tsuchikage snapped back, "At the very least, we should take the matter into consideration."

Ei huffed, "I'm not wasting my time on this!"

"Raikage," Gaara looked over at the man, ignoring his huge frame and intimidating features, "calm yourself. The very least we can do is listen to Tsuchikage-sama."

"I've already listened to his babbling for nearly fifteen years! I have new recruits to train, jobs to assign…"

"So does everyone else, but we're all stuck here until we agree on something." Meii reasoned, "Why don't we just hand this down to Zenkoku? It could be a little warm-up for them, perhaps?"

"Yoinokuchi is threatening to destroy every living thing on the Continent! And you just want to throw the issue onto someone else's lap?" Oonoki sat back in his chair, breathing heavily. Everyone knew the Tsuchikage was getting older; only Ei ever commented on it.

"You old geezer, you're growing senile! Yoinokuchi is just probing us, trying to see if we'll take the bait. Don't you—"

"No." Everyone blinked and turned. Naruto usually kept quiet during the Kage meetings, seeing as how he was the newest. He had matured since his days as a teenager; of course, he was still loud and obnoxious when he became passionate about something, but when it came to politics, he let the others do the talking. So when he spoke out and stood up from his chair, Ei sat back down after beginning to rise out of fury, Meii stopped tapping her nails, Oonoki closed his mouth grudgingly, and Gaara looked up at his friend, waiting. "Kakou doesn't make empty threats. He has something up his sleeve if he's finally come out of hiding."

Naruto was gripping the edge of the table subconsciously; only Gaara saw. "Oonoki, what is Hakaisha?"

"A summon that, supposedly," He said, glaring at Ei, "has the power to eliminate chakra completely."

"That's impossible." Meii said, blinking rapidly, "Chakra is created through us, through mental, physical, and spiritual energy. A summon would have to take that energy, wouldn't it?"

"According to the file that we have—"

"You mean piece of trash." Ei grumbled.

"—Hakaisha stops the combination from happening. Of course, it would need a vast amount of sacrifices, which I don't think Yoinokuchi can produce."

"What kind of sacrifices?" Naruto asked, his grip on the table tightening. For the first time in front of all the Kages, Oonoki faltered.

"H-Human sacrifices, of course."

"This is ridiculous," Ei once again stood from his chair, "No summon requires—"

"Raikage," Naruto did not look away from Oonoki, "Sit down." Ei's face grew red and his jaw clenched.

"Don't address me so casually! Just because you're a host like my brother, you think you have my respect? You may be a hero, Uzumaki, but here you are nothing but the new kid—"

Naruto snapped his head over, "_Sit._" The room had gone silent, and the tension was beginning to make the Kages' ears buzz. Ei held Naruto's glare before inhaling and slowly sitting back in his seat. Naruto, after another stressful moment, gave him a stiff nod before turning back to face everyone else. "I know Kakou the most out of all of us, and this is right up his ally. We already had the Zenkoku Exam, and I know my representative is anxious to do something, so I suggest we research this summon thing _together_," Naruto gave Ei and Oonoki a look, "and let the team do the footwork. What do you say?"

No one said anything for a moment. Gaara looked around the room before standing up next to Naruto, "I agree. If Yoinokuchi needs human sacrifices, we will all obviously strengthen our home defenses."

"All of the villages have a description of Kakou, but if the rumors are true, he's attracted followers. My rep is excellent with research, so he can probably figure out who's been interested in Kakou's 'mission'." Meii said, looking over at Ei, "Isn't Denkou's brother a Missing-Nin? He could probably get some insight into the criminal world."

"Denkou has no contact with his _step_-brother." Ei growled, "All he's good for is fighting and infiltrating."

"Aimi can work with Ryuu; she worked in the Scientific Development Lab before the exam, so she's good with research as well." Oonoki looked over at Gaara, "As we agreed earlier this month, Katsu will be the appointed leader of the team."

"He will do a fine job." Gaara looked at Naruto, "If Jun is anxious, we can send the mission report right away."

For the first time at a Kage meeting, Naruto gave that old but familiar wolfish grin, "Sounds great."


	2. Midnight

"Kyo, your father is here." A four-year-old boy with blonde hair and blue eyes looked up from his desk. He quickly swept his crayons and paper into his bag before stumbling out of his seat and running down to the front of the room towards Iruka and his father.

"Papa!" Naruto turned from his old sensei to bend down and lift his son up with a grin.

"Hey buddy, surprised?" Kyo dug his head into Naruto's shoulder, who smiled before looking at Iruka. Even in his early forties, the man remained a passionate teacher and ninja. And, of course, a close friend to the Hokage.

"Naruto, I can watch Kyo and Mai during…this mission." Iruka said slowly, his brown eyes full of concern, "I understand Jun was assigned to the Zenkoku team."

"Thanks senpai," Naruto shifted Kyo's weight, "but Hinata is on vacation until the situation is figured out, so she's going to handle them." Iruka nodded before peeking over at Kyo, who blushed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" The child mumbled a response before Naruto kissed his forehead, said goodbye, and set him back on the ground. Kyo grabbed his father's hand as they walked out of the classroom.

A week after the Kage meeting, Naruto was wrapping up the finishing touches before the official mission briefing with Hayashi Jun, the Konoha representative for the Zenkoku team. With Kakou's apparent return and the formation of Yoinokuchi, Naruto was predictably becoming over enthused. This was his first big mission as the Hokage, and he wanted everything to run smoothly. He had already informed all of the major clans in the village to be on alert, knowing that he might possibly need their strength if the Hakaisha threat turns out to be real. He was musing over all of this information now, still thinking of what Jun would need to know and what he should keep to himself, for politics' sake.

He was tugged out of his thoughts by his son, who attempted to drag him to the Yamanaka flower shop. Naruto glanced through the window and spotted Nara Shikamaru and his wife, Ino, the official owner. Their daughter Aya, who was around eleven if he remembered correctly, was outside the shop sprucing up some daffodils. "Aya-chan!" Kyo called out, blushing, and waved.

"Ah, Kyo, Hokage-sama!" Aya almost dropped a pot of the golden daffodils as she waved enthusiastically. She had blonde hair like her mother and the dark, calculating eyes of Shikamaru. She was incredibly thin from dieting, which Ino scolded her about, but was a pretty girl. "How are you?"

"Aya, say hello to your parents for me." Naruto said conversationally before pulling Kyo along; she was the typical girl his young son would have a little crush on. But Hinata…No, she had not been the typical girl. Not for Naruto.

The Uzumaki house was a cozy size; Naruto and Hinata had decided together that a large house wouldn't suit them well. They didn't want any empty spaces, where things and people could be forgotten. So when Naruto and Kyo walked up the wooden front porch, they genuinely felt at home. A woman also in her early thirties was sitting on the porch in a wooden chair with a bright orange cushion, and her lavender eyes brightened as the two stepped up. Uzumaki Hinata rose to envelope her son and kiss the pate of his head, "Mama!"

Naruto grinned and kissed his wife's cheek. Hinata still blushed, even after over ten years. "Kyo go eat, Mai is making something for you." She said sweetly, and Kyo rushed inside, leaving the two alone. She looked at Naruto and exhaled, "So? Is everything ready?"

Naruto leaned back on the railing of the porch, "Yeah, I'm going over Jun's after the kids go to sleep." He paused before reaching out to tug on a strand of Hinata's long, black hair. "I have all the information ready, so she'll go to the official Zenkoku briefing right after we're done."

Hinata tilted her head so he could play with more of her hair; for some reason, Naruto was fascinated by it. He figured it was because Hinata kept her hair long now, just like his mother…

"Are you sure Jun will be okay? She's only eighteen." She brought him back to reality and he smiled.

"If she can handle Mai and Kyo, she can handle this."

* * *

Hayashi Jun wiped the sweat off of her face with a dirty rag before giving the beaten up Crawler a slap on the seat. "There you go! Not too bad." She said to herself, admiring the red vehicle she had saved from the streets a few weeks earlier. The Crawler was still a pretty new invention, with intelligent chakra-reading technology that Jun didn't know existed. However, it couldn't be that intelligent, since Jun had managed to figure out the workings of the two-wheeler in two days.

Jun pushed some of her short black hair out of her eyes before testing the handle bar and the clutch. Her olive skin contrasted to the rusty red of the Crawler, and she had to resist the urge to throw her slender, petite body over the vehicle and take off into the night. The engine revved and she grinned. "Not bad at all…"

"You forgot again, didn't you?" Jun flinched, turned the bike off, and faced the Hokage with a sheepish grin.

"Why hello, Hokage-sama—"

"I was waiting outside your apartment for twenty minutes until your brother came home!" Naruto scowled, "You really—Oh?" He stopped after Jun stepped away from the Crawler, which caught his eye. "Did you fix this up? It looks pretty decent."

"Yeah, I managed to figure out the chakra-reading parts. It's pretty much like a fingerprint scanner." Jun explained as if nothing had happened; it always started out like this. Naruto would try to be the mature, intimidating Hokage, but he would fall back to his old habits and instincts. Jun watched as he poked the torn leather seat of the Crawler; she, and everyone else, liked it when he would just drop the Hokage act and be himself.

"You just need to wax it and fix the seat. Not bad…" Naruto looked up, scowled at himself, then cleared his throat, "Alright, let's go inside."

Jun grinned, and he watched as her blue eyes faded into a more serious gray. "Lead the way, Hokage-sama."

Hayashi Jun, eighteen years old, was Naruto's right hand man. Well, woman. She was an elite member of the ANBU squad, already a captain at her young age, and, more personally, the Uzumakis' former babysitter. Before Jun was appointed to the ANBU squad, she would always watch over Mai and Kyo while Naruto and Hinata worked late nights or on the rare nights where they had the chance to go out. She had been over for dinner numerous times, and Naruto considered her a pseudo daughter, in some ways. Perhaps more like a niece, but either way, Naruto, Hinata, and the children adored Jun. How could they not? She was playful, smart, funny…And Naruto's apprentice, in a way.

When Jun's mother had passed, Naruto had allowed Jun to work under the direction of ANBU at the age of twelve. Living under the same roof as older, seasoned ANBU members had taught Jun well. She ate quickly before the food disappeared, walked briskly with her head raised, and defended herself well. She became an official member at sixteen.

Jun knew she was one of the best in Konoha. Hence, she wasn't surprised when Naruto had chosen her to be the representative for Zenkoku over Kurosawa Jay, even though they tested the same during the Exam. As Jun thought of Jay while leading Naruto to the living room of the apartment she shared with her older brother Kai, her eyes shifted to a deep blue.

"No coffee?" Naruto joked as he sat in the olive green armchair. The apartment wasn't decorated by a specialist, but Jun supposed that as long as Kai kept everything matching, no one would mind.

"Don't like the taste."

"Me neither, but you don't drink it for the taste." Jun sat across from Naruto in the middle of the matching couch, a coffee table separating them. "Obviously I'm not here to talk about coffee, though." Jun watched carefully as Naruto placed a thick manila envelope on the table. "I've put together a file about the situation."

"You mean Nara-san did." Jun stated as she reached to take the file, "Uzumaki-san, we all know you suck at this kind of stuff."

"Alright, whatever, so Shikamaru put the file together." He scowled to himself, "I hate researching."

Jun chuckled as she opened the file and skimmed through it. She raised an eyebrow, "Hakaisha? That's not real," She glanced at him, "Right?"

"Actually, that's what you and your teammates are supposed to find out." Naruto shifted in his seat, "It looks like Kakou is alive and has made some friends." Jun lowered the file to her lap. "We know the identities of two of the members of Yoinokuchi, they're in the file." He nodded towards her lap. "The Suna rep will explain the details and everything, but you guys are supposed to figure out if this threat is for real, and find the other Yoinokuchi members. They're supposedly all Missing-Nins, so it shouldn't be too hard to find someone that knows them or is after them too."

Jun nodded, closed the file, and looked at Naruto, "Let's say the threat is real. How are we supposed to stop the summoning?"

"Well, according to Oonoki, it needs human sacrifices, which they could get from anywhere easily. But," Naruto leaned forward, "you have to think about it. Not any normal guy is going to be enough for Hakaisha; there has to be a catch. This summon is supposed to be the most powerful out of the bunch, and for that kind of power, you have to sacrifice something of equal value, right? Makes sense, right?"

Jun fumbled, "Well yeah, but, I mean, there's a lot of powerful ninja out there. How can we figure out which ones they're after?" Naruto leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"That's the problem me and Shikamaru are having, too. We're working together on this, since he's a genius and whatnot, but we can't figure out a deciding factor that would help us narrow down the victims. Ryuu and Aimi, you know, your teammates, are supposedly great researchers, so hopefully they can figure something out." He closed his eyes, "The other Kages are working on this too, obviously, but Zenkoku is going to have to do most of the work. We have our villages to protect, too."

"Don't worry, we'll find something." Jun said, looking back at the file, "But if that's all you have to say, I have to study this before the briefing tomorrow."

"Right. Hinata's waiting, anyway." They both stood up and Jun walked him to the door.

"How are Kyo and Mai?" She hadn't meant to ask, and both were surprised. Naruto blinked before affectionately patting her on the pate of her head, like he used to do years ago.

"They're getting along fine. Come over for dinner again, they miss you. We all do." He added gently and her face flushed red. He left and she closed the door quietly behind him. Sighing, she looked at the envelope in her hand and dragged herself back over to the couch. Her black hair fell in her eyes again, and she shook her head to clear her view. Her hair framed her face and fell just under her chin, which she liked. Jay liked it as well.

She shook her head again and opened the file.

There was a scanned copy of a piece of paper that held a drawing of a large beast with clawed hands, hooves, three eyes, and a five-pointed star on its' stomach. Underneath the drawing were scratched notes. _Hakaisha, the all-powerful summon, can be revived only by the blood of the pure and strong. Once revived, Hakaisha will obey only the one who has summoned it. If Hakaisha deems him worthy, it will follow his every whim._

The next few pages were reports on sightings of Yoinokuchi and Kakou, which were vague and not very helpful. A picture of Kakou was stapled to these sightings. They had used his ANBU ID picture. He was tan, had long dark hair that he kept in a ponytail, usually, and piercing black eyes. Jun flipped the page; she still remembered his eyes.

There was information on her new teammates. She hadn't met them yet, but she knew the names. Katsu was the first profile in the list, and it included a picture.

_**Name: **__Katsu_

_**Age: **__20_

_**Gender: **__Male_

_**Genjutsu: **__3_

_**Ninjutsu: **__4_

_**Taijutsu:**__ 5_

_**Chakra:**__ Earth, Fire, Wind_

_**Village: **__Sunagakure_

He was also tan, and his dark hair fell to his shoulders. He also had bangs that fell into his brown eyes, which were hard and cool. He had broad shoulders and a thin mouth; obviously not a fan of smiling. He also had a chain around his neck, but Jun didn't notice any striking details about it. If she remembered correctly, Naruto had told her that Katsu was the appointed captain of the team. He looked the part.

The next page was the only other girl on the team.

_**Name:**__ Ishikawa Aimi_

_**Age: **__19_

_**Gender:**__ Female_

_**Genjutsu: **__4_

_**Ninjutsu: **__3_

_**Taijutsu: **__2_

_**Chakra:**__ Earth, Fire_

_**Village: **__Iwagakure_

Aimi was fair-skinned with long, golden brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. Her lips were pink and full, and in the picture she was smiling. She was not petite like Jun, but of average height and weight, and had curves. Jun sighed; Aimi was very pretty. Annoyed, she flipped to the next page.

_**Name:**__ Kawaguchi Ryuu_

_**Age: **__19_

_**Gender:**__ Male_

_**Genjutsu:**__ 0_

_**Ninjutsu: **__4_

_**Taijutsu: **__4_

_**Chakra: **__Water, Wind_

_**Village: **__Kirigakure_

Ryuu was like Katsu in presence; he looked like he didn't enjoy talking. He was more on the pale side, and had dark blue hair that brought out his aqua eyes. They looked translucent. His hair was shaggy and short; it looked good. His mouth was a straight line, neither smiling nor frowning. He looked tall in the picture, but other than his eyes, she found nothing very distinctive. She turned to the next page and blinked.

_**Name: **__Takeda Denkou_

_**Age: **__18_

_**Gender: **__Male_

_**Genjutsu: **__0_

_**Ninjutsu: **__3_

_**Taijutsu: **__5_

_**Chakra: **__Lightning, Wind_

_**Village: **__Kumogakure_

It was rare for a shinobi to have both Lightning and Wind natures, since the elements naturally opposed each other. But, that wasn't the first thing that caught Jun's eye. In the picture, Denkou had a huge grin on his tan face. He had bright blonde hair that was spiked, and emerald green eyes, another rarity. Jun could barely make out some kind of marking on his neck, but from the angle of the picture it was impossible to figure out what the tattoo was. Jun yawned as she went through the rest of the manila envelope: just boring statistics and documentation of rumors about Hakaisha and Yoinokuchi.

She looked down at the couch and, suddenly, had the random thought that this might be the last time she would sit on this couch for a while. But, she remembered that the Hakaisha was probably a myth anyway. No summon required human sacrifices; it was simply unheard of and against any type of shinobi conscience.

Jun slept on the olive green couch anyway.


	3. Meetings

Iwagakure was a decent-sized village carved into the side of a massive mountain. The buildings were all carved out of brown rock, more like hills than houses. Every separate building was connected by wires and bridges, which Jun looked at from far below. The bike hummed underneath her as she tried to figure out how the hell she was going to get up to the main level of the village.

If she had been able to choose, Iwagakure would not have been one of Jun's top choices to hold the Zenkoku briefing. Although Iwa had the best natural defenses and one of the strongest militaries, Jun would have chosen any other place but here. Not because it was a great distance from Konoha, but merely because of the village's ninja: they were all so stiff.

For example, when Jun had joked around at the main gate of the village, the guards had the audacity to scold her. Even when she had shoved her right wrist that held the marking of Konoha under the main guard's nose, he had still demanded a photo ID and a foreigner's pass. She had grudgingly obliged, already five minutes late, but still, it really was a shame that a village's people were so…inflexible.

So now, as she rode her rusty red Crawler throughout the ground level of Iwa, Jun cursed the shinobi of Iwa for making her late. She was so frustrated as she tried to find a staircase that would lead up to the Tsuchikage's palace, that she almost didn't stop the bike in time to twist around in the still torn leather seat to grab an enemy's wrist and flip them over her back.

"What the hell!" Jun jumped off her bike, letting it fall onto its side, and watched the person that attacked her stand and move into an offensive stance. "Listen, I'm already late—"

The enemy, in all black with their face wrapped so only their eyes peeked out, lurched forward. Impressed, Jun dodged with a leap to the side and the mystery shinobi glared. "You're late? I'm missing the most important meeting of my life right now." Jun blinked; it was the voice of a woman.

"You attacked first!" Jun said defensively.

"My men said you were a danger to Iwa. Impersonating a Zenkoku member, please, you aren't nearly skilled enough." At this, Jun leapt and caught the enemy around the waist, pinning her to rock solid ground. Snarling, she shoved her forearm against the woman's throat.

"I have fucking papers! Hayashi Jun from Konoha, I'm the real deal!" The woman blinked rapidly.

"What? Let me see." Scowling, Jun stood with the woman, who pulled the black head scarf down to her neck to reveal long, honey brown locks that fell to the middle of her back. Jun stared; she was beautiful. And familiar.

After looking over the papers, the woman with light brown eyes and full, pink lips blushed and handed them back, "Oh I'm so sorry Hayashi-san! The guard's must've misread your information." Jun shoved the papers back into her bag. "This is a terrible way to meet, but I'm Ishikawa Aimi; your teammate."

Jun blinked; that would explain why she looked so familiar. "It's alright, just doing your job. Even though it was overdone." She added lowly.

"Well, I was running late, so I needed to take care of it quickly." Aimi explained, completely embarrassed. "Oh! We're so late! Don't worry about the Crawler, hurry! Katsu-san will be so upset."

"The captain? You've met him?" Jun asked, a little wary when Aimi grabbed her forearm.

"Yes, I led him to Tsuchikage-sama's palace for the meeting! I was just called on some business, oh, just hold on." They disappeared in smoke, Jun's Crawler still lying on its side.

* * *

The room had only one light which was centered over a round table that three men sat at. When Aimi and Jun arrived seven minutes late, they all turned to look at them. While Aimi apologized multiple times for both of them, Jun took a seat in-between a man with dark blue hair and a man with long, black hair. Kawaguchi Ryuu and Katsu, if she remembered correctly.

Aimi sat on Katsu's right and next to a man with tan skin and bright blonde hair. Takeda Denkou glanced at Aimi, bored. "I thought I was going to be the late one." He drawled and Aimi blushed again. Jun frowned. Before she could defend Aimi, however, Katsu cleared his throat. He was more intimidating in person with his sharp features and dark eyes, which he used to look at Jun for a long moment before switching over to Denkou.

"It doesn't matter, let's just start." He placed five files onto the table; Jun recognized them as their own profiles. "I'm sure your respective Kages told you that I've been appointed captain. Judging by the statuses, I'm going to appoint," Katsu looked down at one opened file, "Kawaguchi Ryuu as second-in-command." He looked over at Ryuu, "Any objection?"

Ryuu's pale face remained stolid as well as his translucent blue eyes as he shook his head.

"Ishikawa Aimi?" She looked up, "You're the only one that can use medical jutsus, so Ryuu will be your partner." Aimi looked over at Ryuu and smiled. Ryuu, however, was not amused.

"Partner?" His voice was deep, like Katsu's, but, somehow, quiet.

"We'll be using a five-star formation. Since I seem to be the most capable, I will be the lone point of the star. You four, therefore, will partner up and support each other based on your skills." Katsu explained simply, "Since Ryuu is second in command, I think it's best that he support our only medical-nin." He looked around the table, "Any thoughts?"

Ryuu shifted in his seat, but did not argue. "It's logical."

"So that leaves me with you." Denkou looked over at Jun and grinned. "I thought Konoha-nins don't need support?" She had kept her eyes a cool gray for the occasion, but found them turning black.

"I don't."

Katsu glanced at both of them, "Hayashi Jun is well-rounded with close, mid, and long-range attacks while you, Takeda Denkou, seem to only expertise in close combat." He flipped through Denkou's file, "Jun will have to support you, since it seems that you only have one Ninjutsu attack."

"Just because I have a different fighting style doesn't mean I can't handle myself." Denkou scowled.

"We'll see. Anyway, for the sake of this formation working, just deal with it. I'm sure you all will get along." Katsu's last statement was strained and forced; everyone saw it. Silently, he swept the profiles off the table and replaced them with new ones. "These are the identities of Yoinokuchi that the Kages have found. Kenta from Kirigakure and Yuu from Kumogakure." He passed the files to Jun on his left. Kenta had olive skin like herself and a shaved head while Yuu had dark skin with spiked black hair and uniquely bright blue eyes. "Both are Missing-nins, obviously, and have been sighted in the last two weeks. Kenta, it appears, was in Kirigakure and Yuu was spotted along the border of the Rain Country and the Fire Country, heading southeast."

"Maybe Kirigakure is the meeting place for Yoinokuchi? Kenta is already there and it looks like Yuu is making his way there as well." Aimi suggested, tucking some of her hair behind an ear.

"No." Everyone glanced at Ryuu, "If Hakaisha and human sacrifices are what they want, Kirigakure is not where they would head." He said quietly.

"Too much attention." Katsu added, "They wouldn't meet altogether in a main village. Especially since we're all looking for them." Aimi's smile faded and she rested her chin on her hand. "We'll be able to figure it out after we do some research here."

"Do you know," Jun started and everyone turned their focus to her, "how many followers Kakou has?" Her eye color had changed to blue. Everyone noticed, but only Denkou commented.

"What's with your eyes?" There was a collective sigh. "What? Just asking…"

"No one knows for sure, but we assume a decent amount." Katsu replied.

"Has anyone seen him?" She bit her lip.

"…No." Jun closed her eyes and nodded. He gave her a look before giving his attention to everyone, "Ryuu and Aimi, you can start researching Hakaisha; see if it's a real threat or not. Denkou and Jun, you two focus on Kenta and Yuu; find a connection."

"And you?" Denkou asked with a cocked brow.

"I have business to deal with. I'll meet you in three hours, so at six."

"Dinner?" Katsu gave Denkou a scowl.

"Depends on if you do a decent job or not. You better find something." And with that last statement, Katsu was gone with smoke, leaving the other four to do nothing but start digging.

As Aimi led the way to the underground library, Jun and Denkou bumped elbows. They made eye contact and scowled before looking away. It was going to be a long three hours.

* * *

"Naruto, look at this." Naruto looked up from a large book, dark circles under his eyes. He had been trying to help Shikamaru with the research involving Hakaisha, and it showed. He wasn't used to reading so much text at once, unlike Shikamaru, who looked normal as he stood in front of Naruto's desk, holding another book. Shikamaru cleared the desk with one sweep of his arm before placing the book in front of Naruto.

"What is it?"

"A book about two-hundred years old." Shikamaru touched a page gingerly, "It's ridiculous that it's still in such a good condition. It's written by a monk who lived in the desert outside of Sunagakure. I wasn't even looking at it, but the date is consistent with the supposed date that the Hakaisha summon was first written in a scroll." He was getting excited, "It looks like this monk was a witness to a summoning. Well, supposedly." He added for good measure.

"…It says that all of the sacrifices had 'unique qualities found only in their blood'." Naruto said quietly as he read, "What's that supposed to mean?" Shikamaru raised his eyebrow at Naruto.

"Seriously? 'Unique qualities found only in their blood'?"

"Quiet, Shikamaru, I'm trying to think." He sighed.

"Naruto…The monk's talking about kekkei genkai!" Naruto blinked.

"That would make sense. So, the sacrifices have to have some sort of genetic bloodline limit." Shikamaru nodded.

"From this book, it appears so. That definitely limits the amount of people Yoinokuchi can choose from."

"Yes. Hm, I'll tell Jay to start with all of the clans with a kekkei genkai in Konoha. I'll send word to the other Kages to do the same." Naruto said quickly as he stood from his desk and slap Shikamaru on the back, "Way to go Shikamaru! Have the week off!"

"Uh, Naruto—"

"Alright I was kidding, but take a lunch break or something! Just get out of here, I have stuff to do!" He exclaimed with a huge grin as he grabbed the telephone on his desk. Shikamaru shook his head before leaving.

"You're getting too excited Naruto." But his comment went ignored as Naruto swiftly called his left-hand man.

"Jay? Yes, I have a job for you."

* * *

Kurosawa Jay sighed as he flipped his cell phone shut. There was a cool breeze outside that made his charcoal hair fly into his face. He calmly swept his hair aside as he slipped his phone into his front pocket, giving the tree stump one more glance. He could faintly make out the carvings, but he turned away and began walking back into the main market. With his tall and somewhat thin frame, he maneuvered easily through the crowds as he made his way to Konoha's library.

'_A list of all the kekkei genkai in Konoha. This will take a while._' For a moment, Jay wondered what the Zenkoku team was doing. Then he frowned and continued on. He wasn't bitter about not being chosen as the representative; he understood why he remained and Jun left.

That was how it always was: Jay would stay put and wait restlessly while Jun went on her adventures. There was nothing new or unexpected about the situation. In fact, Jay was surprised that Naruto had taken so long to decide which one of them was to go; he had always known it would be Jun.

'_It was always her._'

Jay looked up at the library building before going inside. After settling down with the family records of Konoha at a desk, he calmly began his list, with Hayashi Jun at the top.


	4. Move

The sound of restless fingertips tapping on wood was all she could hear. This was becoming irritating; she didn't understand why he wouldn't just give the orders now. He obviously couldn't wait any longer.

"Everyone's ready." She said, graciously tracing the doll's face. "Why don't we start?"

"No…The timing has to be precise." He said gruffly, his dark hair making his face more intimidating. She, however, liked it.

"They know about Kenta and Yuu already." He frowned.

"Yes, that wasn't planned, but I already found a way around it." She looked down at her dolls.

"May I?"

"No, no. Everything is still going smoothly. We just have to wait." She sighed.

"I'm getting bored. Why can't I go out with the others?" He actually laughed, and she scowled. "Bastard."

"Just be patient. Naruto's back is slowly turning; when he's not looking, we'll start."

* * *

Gaara was looking over the scroll sent from Konoha when his military commander walked into his office. "Is everything okay?" His commander was a woman in her early thirties, with light purple hair and deep red violet eyes. She had been by his side since his early teens and was an exceptional kunoichi, and partner. He was proud to call her his wife.

"Yume, send four guards out to protect these families." He handed her the scroll and a list of the families. Yume scanned the scroll with a frown.

"Yoinokuchi is after kekkei genkai? That's original." She drawled, but tucked the scroll into her belt and folded the list before sitting on the edge of Gaara's desk. "Have the Mizukage and Raikage sent the info on Kenta and Yuu?"

Gaara folded his hands and rested his chin atop them, "Meii has, but Ei is taking his time. I sent all the information from Konoha to Iwa, but it won't reach Katsu for another hour." He looked up at her, "What else am I scheduled for today?"

Yume paused then reached over his desk to grab the day planner that he never bothered to use. Everything written inside was in her handwriting. "Let's see," She flipped open to the present, "Meeting with the Council in fifteen minutes," Gaara sighed, "military advisory meeting at four—I would say to skip since you're so busy, but it would look bad for you not to be present—and then at five forty-five you were supposed to meet with Tsuchikage-sama via telephone, but you'll have to skip that." Gaara blinked and placed a hand on Yume's arm.

"Skip? And why?" She stared at him, but he remained clueless. Her eyes dropped and she sighed.

"Today is Sho's birthday, Gaara." He closed his eyes and sat back in his chair. She stood from the desk and placed her hands on her hips. "Don't even think about it."

"Yume—"

"You missed his birthday for the past two years."

"It's just a day. Birthdays don't need to be celebrated." A wall of sand sprung up to stop Yume's fist. "Don't start."

"This is _our son_. We agreed," She paused, swallowed, "We agreed, that we wouldn't raise him the way we were raised." Gaara remained unmoved.

"I want to, Yume, but we also agreed that with my position I wouldn't be able to be home as much."

"But his _birthday_?"

"I'll make it up to him." He looked back down at his desk and pulled some files towards him. They contained more sightings of Yoinokuchi, and he was to look over them before sending them to the research team. "We can talk about this later, this is more important."

Yume inhaled sharply, "Gaara, do you even know how old Sho is?" He blinked and paused in his reading.

"Of course."

"How old is he?"

"Yume, I don't have time for this." Both of their voices were rising.

"_How old is he?_" He looked up and they stared at each other, his brow furrowed and her face hard.

"…He's turning ten." Yume's face and shoulders dropped and he blinked rapidly. "What?" She closed her eyes and hugged her stomach before shaking her head and turning away. Gaara stood up, "Yume."

Before she left his office, she looked over her shoulder, "Your son is turning thirteen Gaara. You have a meeting in five minutes, you should get ready." When the door slammed shut behind her, he remained standing for a few moments before slowly sitting back down. He blinked a few times before pressing the intercom button on his desk.

"Please send the Council in, I'm ready for the meeting."

* * *

"What the hell! This thing is so slow!"

Jun ignored Denkou as she continued to click her way through the Continent's Doomsday system on the computer. The Doomsday system held a record of every registered shinobi in the Continent including DNA, hair, and blood samples from each individual. She and Denkou were currently working on finding some common factor between Kenta and Yuu, but the information on them was insignificant so far. The only thing the two Zenkoku members found remotely interesting was that Kenta and Yuu both became Missing-nins within a month of each other.

"Ah, got it! Girlie, check it out. Found their families." Denkou pointed at his monitor and Jun leaned over to look. "Kenta has a sister and Yuu has a cousin." Jun's brow furrowed. According to the records, Kenta's sister lived alone in Kiri and was unmarried. That was rare for a normal citizen. She looked at Yuu's file and scowled.

"You idiot, it says the cousin is deceased." Denkou blinked and looked. He said nothing and exited out of the file.

"Whatever. We have the sister, that's some kind of lead." He grumbled as he looked up the file number before standing to find the original paper document in the immense underground library. Jun leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms above her head.

"Yeah, one lead in two hours. Nice." Over at the tables, Ryuu and Aimi weren't doing any better.

Ryuu was leaned back comfortably in his chair with a book in hand, but a grim expression on his face. "None of these sources are reliable." Aimi looked up from a large map.

"But there's evidence?" She was routing the team's course to every village where Yoinokuchi had been spotted. Ryuu glanced at her over the book.

"Barely. There are references to Hakaisha, though." He looked at the map, but said nothing. She noticed.

"I'm good with navigation." She said with a smile; he set the book down, wrote notes on a clipboard, and picked up a new book. She sighed.

"Hey Aimi, Ryuu, we found Kenta's sister." Denkou dropped the document in front of her, "She's pretty hot."

Jun scowled as she sat next to Aimi, "She lives in Kirigakure." Ryuu lifted his head. "Her name's Cho. Do you know her?" Jun asked Ryuu, who shook his head. For a moment, she thought about how she liked Ryuu; he didn't talk too much.

"I'll figure out our route." Aimi said, "With three Crawlers it shouldn't take too long to reach Kirigakure."

"Three?" Denkou and Jun asked in unison.

"Well Jun has hers, and Iwagakure's military force just got two of the newer models." Aimi replied before the two could start an argument.

"Why only two?" Jun frowned; no one else was sitting on her bike.

"Budget cuts." Aimi said shortly before turning back to the map. "When Katsu comes back, we can figure the details out and leave in the morning."

"We're leaving today." Everyone looked up to see Katsu on the opposite side of the library in the middle of the doorway. His brow was furrowed and he had a scroll in hand. "Aimi, you and Ryuu take one Crawler, Jun has hers, and I'll anchor with the last one." He looked at Denkou, "You're with Jun."

"Girlie over here? Come on." Denkou groaned before looking over at his partner, "I'm driving."

Jun scowled, "Absolutely not. You're not riding with me."

"Jun." Katsu's tone made her blood run cold, and she scowled before turning away. "So we have a family member. I just got a scroll from Kazekage-sama; looks like Yoinokuchi needs sacrifices with kekkei genkai." He nodded towards Ryuu, "I already have a list of all the families in Kirigakure, Konohagakure, and Sunagakure with kekkei genkai. Make a list of Iwagakure—"

"Here." Katsu blinked when Ryuu produced a printed list from inside his black zip-up jacket. His face remained stoic as he stood to hand the list to Katsu, who raised an eyebrow. "Iwagakure only has three families with kekkei genkai; it's a wide-known fact." Ryuu explained fluidly, without any thought.

Katsu looked at Aimi, who nodded her head, "It's true." He looked at Denkou, who shrugged, and sighed. Aimi looked at the map, "If we leave for Kirigakure now, we can be there by early morning Tuesday."

Jun had to bite her tongue; sharing her bike for two nights was not going to happen so easily. She had practically built the bike herself. Denkou glanced at her, but looked away when she returned the semi-glare.

Katsu said something about meeting at the front gates in twenty minutes, but Jun's head was still buzzing with frustration and annoyance. She didn't even notice that her and Denkou were the only ones left in the library until he stepped towards her.

"What?" He scowled at her harsh tone, but did not look away from her eyes. She shifted uncomfortably and looked down.

"…Your—"

"Denkou, Jun!" Denkou's head immediately snapped up and Jun spun on her heel to face the doorway, where Aimi peeked her head through, "Hurry!"

"Right." Jun quickly pushed past her to exit the building, leaving Denkou with a scowl.

* * *

"Have you ever been to Konohagakure, Yuu-kun?" A man tightened the belt around his hips and looked up at his partner.

"No, you'll have to lead." Another man with dark hair and blue eyes nodded before gazing over the top of Konoha. The roof the two were on provided an excellent view of the large estate that was their target, and the blue-eyed man squatted to get a more precise look.

"That's the entrance point; he'll be coming back soon." Yuu looked over.

"And he'll stick to the schedule?"

"He's been doing the same thing every day for three weeks." The blue-eyed man smirked, "I'm just waiting for your order."

Yuu rubbed the back of his neck restlessly, "I'm waiting for his order, and you know that. What about the girl?"

"She's at that shop until seven."

"I'll take her, then. It's better if we take both around the same time." Yuu waited for a response, and frowned when his partner remained silent. "Ichigo."

Ichigo looked over his shoulder, "Yuu, I want to take him now." Yuu cracked his fingers; he was starting to give in to his partner's whines.

"Once I get the word—" Yuu stopped abruptly to turn on his heel and grab a bird by its head. Once caught, the bird burst into flame before being replaced by a scroll. Yuu skimmed through it and let the corner of his lip rise, "One hour. Can you wait that long?"

Ichigo sighed, but sat back down on the roof. "I don't really have a choice."

* * *

Hyuuga Hajime threw his bag over his right shoulder as he walked through the front room of his home, "I'm going."

"Ah, ah, ah, Hajime! Wait a minute." Hajime sighed and rolled his lavender eyes as he waited for his mother at the front door. A woman in her mid-thirties and a rounded stomach appeared around the corner of the room. Her brown hair was done in a loose braid and her chocolate eyes were warm as she teasingly tugged at her son's equally brown hair, which ended just under his chin, "You need a haircut!"

Hajime scowled, "Dad needs a haircut…"

Hyuuga Neji heard the comment from the living room and smirked briefly to himself before sipping his tea; his own hair was well past his shoulders, but Tenten knew better than to critique it.

Tenten sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, still smiling, "Okay, you can grow it out a little longer…And why do you have to train at night? It's better if you start in the morning."

"I told you, Nara doesn't get out of the shop until seven and she'll complain if we train without her." With that, Hajime excused himself and closed the door behind him, leaving Tenten to walk back to the living room and join her husband on the couch. Automatically, Neji raised his left arm and Tenten curled into his side.

"How is she?" Neji asked, looking down. She smiled and placed her hands on her stomach.

"Very squirmy, but I think that's because Hajime left. She already knows who he is." She added, giggling when Neji placed a hand on her stomach. He still found it amazing that a human being was hiding in there, already six months along. When Hajime was born, Neji admitted to feeling nauseous, but holding his son for the first time quelled both his stomach and his heart.

He was excited to feel the warmth again when his—no, their—daughter is in his arms.

"Hajime will be a good older brother." Neji said quietly as he moved his hand to stroke Tenten's hair. She tilted her face towards him so he could kiss her mouth.

"I know, Neji."

* * *

"He's moving."

"I know. Let's go."


	5. Late Night

Naruto ruffled his daughter Mai's blonde hair and kissed the top of her head, "Don't forget your brother when you go to school, Mai." Mai's pale lavender eyes creased as she smiled.

"I won't, geez. Say hi to Sho-kun for me!"

"I will, I will."

"Mai let your father leave. Kazekage-sama is waiting." Hinata said as she gently placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. Naruto smiled and kissed his wife.

"I'll be back in three days. You know how Gaara and Yume are; we'll be talking about the same strategy over and over again."

Hinata sighed, "I wish you would take this more seriously…"

His smile faded and he looked down at Mai, "Why don't you go into the living room?" Although she was only ten, Mai understood and quickly slunk away. "Hinata, I am…"

"I read the scroll from Gaara, too." She bit her lip, "If Yoinokuchi is after kekkei-genkai…" She trailed off, but Naruto knew and took her hands in his.

"Nothing will happen to you. I promise." She shook her head quickly, eyes watering.

"Oh, Naruto, it's not me I'm worried about…"

* * *

Nara Aya closed the back door of the Yamanaka Flower Shop behind her and sighed in relief. "Finally!"

"You're late." She looked up to see Hyuuga Hajime leaning against the building, frowning. "You always tell me and Jin to wait for you, but you're never on time."

She placed her hands on her hips, "I'm the only one with other responsibilities here! Excuse me for having a job." Hajime rolled his eyes, '_Here we go…_'

"Don't roll your eyes at me! What did you do all day, hm?" She jabbed him in the chest with her finger and he pushed her hand away, annoyed.

"Does it matter? Jin already went home, it's nine at night, and I have curfew." Aya stopped and raised her eyebrow.

"Then why are you here?"

"So you wouldn't nag me tomorrow." Hajime said coolly, "If you're not too tired," She caught the sneer, "we can train for two hours."

"Oh, I'm fine. It all depends on you."

"Then let's go."

By the time the two turned to leave, however, the back alley was blocked. Aya's eyes narrowed, "Who's there?" Hajime examined the two shadows before pushing Aya towards the back door of the shop. "Hey!"

"Go inside, _now._"

"What's your—" She stopped as the wave of chakra crashed down on her. Her eyes widened as she fell to her knees, "W-What is this…"

Hajime slid in front of her, looking over his shoulder, "Nara, get out of here!"

"I-I can't move…"

Hajime's head snapped forward; the two shadows were approaching, fast. '_Byakugan!_'

"_Hajime!_"

* * *

"_Denkou!_" The blonde scowled.

"What now?"

The Zenkoku Team had stopped for the night, making camp near a large boulder; they had made good time and were now only a day and a half away from Kirigakure. There was no fire; the summer night was sultry and made beads of sweat trail down Jun's already flustered face as she pointed at her Crawler.

"You scratched it!"

"Like hell I did!" Jun scowled as she walked up to her bike and motioned to the paint on the side of the seat. Denkou blinked and walked up to examine the spot.

"Oh yeah, I did…I scratched a whole _millimeter_ of your bike." He drawled, waving it off before turning back to Ryuu. Jun bit the inside of her cheek. Hard.

The day had been tough on her. Her face was burnt and her eyes dry from the wind slapping her as she drove, and blonde hair was all over the back of her black shirt. He shed like a dog. But, she had endured. Not because she wanted to; she, in complete honesty, was terrified of Katsu.

As she looked around at everyone, she knew that everyone else was intimidated by the leader as well. Even as the Suna representative sat calmly against the trunk of a tree, his mere stature seemed to emanate power. His shoulders were stiffly straight and his brown eyes cool as he read over the list of families with kekkei genkai in Kirigakure. His legs were crossed over each other, his knees bent sharply, and she wondered how that would be comfortable.

Jun didn't have time to ponder, however, for Katsu looked up from the scroll and right into her twilight gray eyes. Caught off guard, her face flushed and she quickly looked away, her eye color already shifting to a deep blue. "Jun."

Everyone became silent. Aimi stopped trying to start a conversation with Ryuu, Denkou sat up from the grass, and Ryuu turned his head to Jun.

"Yeah?" She sounded at ease. Her palms began to sweat.

"Come here." His location was about ten meters from everyone else, so the walk was too long for her liking. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. She stood in front of Katsu and, to put up a good front, placed her hands on her hips.

"What's up?"

At this, Aimi smacked Denkou and Ryuu both in the arms, in which they looked away from Jun and Katsu.

Katsu's eyes still bore into Jun's, "Your file didn't mention your kekkei genkai. I'm curious to know what it is." She bit her lip; she had asked the Hokage to keep that information out of her permanent file intentionally.

"Ah, that's it?" She forced a chuckle, "It's called Teishogan." He waited, but when she would not give out any more information, he nodded.

"I see. It's important to know your teammates abilities; all of them." He added.

"Oh, yeah, of course." Jun waved it off; the conversation wasn't going as badly as she thought it would. "In that case, what are you all about?" She asked lightly, just prodding enough to hopefully make Katsu at least seem like a normal shinobi.

For a moment, she thought it worked, for one of the corners of Katsu's lips turned upright before he spoke, "I ask the questions, Jun. It's your shift for lookout. Good night."

* * *

A thirteen-year-old boy laid in bed in Sunagakure, staring out the round window at a half-moon. Idly, he grew a long wire out of a fingertip and flung it at the opposite wall, where it joined many other wires that had been bent and misshapen. The boy's red-violet eyes blended in with his fire-red hair, which was unkempt. He pushed some of it aside as someone knocked on his door.

"…Sho." The door creaked open, letting in a sliver of light that landed right on the boy's eye. Gaara peeked inside his son's room, saw that he was in bed, and fully opened the door. "Happy birthday…"

Sho looked over at his father, "Thank you."

Gaara did not move to step into the room, but instead looked at his son carefully. "I'm sorry, but with the crisis going on, I won't be around much."

"It's okay. I understand." Gaara nodded, mostly to himself.

"Good. Is there anything you would like to tell me?" Sho looked up at the ceiling.

"I heard that Uzumaki-sama is coming."

"Yes, he'll be here tomorrow morning. He's staying for two days." Sho nodded and Gaara felt his chest grow warm; his son reminded him of himself. Gaara didn't say anything for a moment, and then an idea popped into his head. A great idea. "Sho...You're coming with me to a Council meeting tomorrow."

Sho sat up quickly, "A Council meeting?" His eyes betrayed his curiosity and excitement. Gaara nodded.

"Go to bed, I'll wake you early."

"Yes, father." Gaara watched his son hurriedly slip under the covers and rest his head on a pillow before turning and closing the bedroom door behind him.

"Good night, son."

* * *

Nara Shikamaru watched his wife Ino pace the room. Her blonde hair was still in a ponytail after all the years, but it rested at the base of her neck instead of high on her head.

"Aya never stays out this late."

"Ino, I'm sure she's fine. She's with Neji's son; he has a good head on his shoulders." Ino scowled.

"Some father you are! You should be even more worried that she's with some boy!" Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"He's a Hyuuga; that's enough reassurance for me. And you know Aya, she's a good kunoichi."

Ino pressed her palms into her eyes and plopped down at the kitchen table, "Please, Shikamaru, just let a mother worry about her daughter."

He looked away with a sigh and rubbed the back of his neck, "I'll go find her, geez."

"You better."

* * *

Ryuu sat with his sword resting in his lap. The blade was wider than his waist and he had polished it so thoroughly that he could clearly see his reflection, even in the moonlight. He tilted the blade, and saw Aimi in the reflection. He looked over his shoulder, "What?"

She handed him an apple, "It looks like I was the only one that thought of packing food."

He ignored her and the apple, "It's my shift; you can sleep." Aimi blinked, taken aback, and tucked some of her golden brown hair behind her right ear.

"Well, you got the short straw and have the longest shift, so it's not really fair, I don't think. And you're my partner, right?" She added with a smile; Ryuu shrugged.

"I suppose." Aimi frowned and straightened up. She had expected this. The day had not gone much better; despite her best intentions, the Crawler ride consisted of silence and the occasional navigational comment. He had asked her twenty minutes in if he was going too fast, but after she reassured him it was fine, the conversation stopped before it could begin.

She looked down at the sword in his lap; according to the file she read on him, he was more than proficient with the weapon. She had also done some extra research on the blade; the blue gem embedded in the handle was unusual and caught her attention. Despite the research, however, she found nothing about the mysterious blade that he now had.

He noticed that she was examining the sword and shifted on the grass, "It's called Mizukai."

"Ah, I didn't mean to stare…"

"It's fine." She hesitated, but then sat on the grass next to him. He turned his head back forward; there were people wandering around the main trail earlier, but now he sensed no one besides his teammates. "There's still two hours until sunrise; you should rest."

"It's okay; I mean, you're going to be driving."

"…What?"

* * *

Hajime blinked rapidly as he tried to sit up, only to hit his head against wood. He was surrounded by darkness. Scowling, he moved to raise his arms, only to find that they were bound behind him as well as his ankles. "What is this?"

"Good you're awake." Hajime recognized Aya's voice and sighed.

"I told you to run."

"I…I couldn't move, alright?" She sounded upset, but only for a moment. "Anyway, too late for that, they're moving us somewhere. Figure out where we are."

Hajime rolled his eyes; even in these kinds of situations, she was still a nag. Nevertheless, he activated his Byakugan to see outside the wooden box they were confined in. "Damn it."

"What?"

"I think we're underground." Aya hissed in response. "But, did you get a look at them?" He heard her shift around, and then felt her leg against his.

"Yeah, the dark guy knocked you out. The other one put a seal on me, I think."

"Any idea who they are?"

Aya tilted her head, "Well my dad has been working with Hokage-sama about that one rogue group…But I don't see what they would want with us." There was a minute of silence before Hajime spoke up.

"It might be me. Outside clans are always trying to find ways of getting the Byakugan."

Aya pondered aloud, "But why wouldn't they wait until you were alone?"

"Another hostage is always a good backup." She frowned.

"You really know how to make a girl feel safe."

"Ah…" Another uncomfortable silence, the only sound being the object they were trapped in dragging across the ground. Aya moved around again.

"So…What's the plan?" Hajime closed his eyes.

"Wait until we stop. I'll break out of the binds, untie you, and we'll put up some resistance." Aya groaned.

"We better stop soon…"

* * *

"I got nothing, Neji."

"Are you sure Aya-san was with Hajime?"

"Yeah, at least, she told us she would be when she closed up the shop." Neji's brow furrowed.

"Yes, Hajime did say that he was going to meet her for training…"

"I told him, I told him it was too late!" Tenten buried her face in her arms as she sat at the table, Ino placing an arm around her shoulders before giving a worried look to Neji; he understood. During her first pregnancy, Tenten had gone into early labor due to stress from Neji suffering a fatal wound during a mission. She was already eight months pregnant, so Hajime was healthy, but at only six months…

"Tenten, don't worry, I'm sure they're fine." Ino said, trying to calm herself down as well, "I know Aya; she wouldn't let anything happen to herself, and Hajime is so strong at such a young age."

Neji looked back at Shikamaru, "This might be another attempt at stealing the Byakugan…"

Shikamaru shook his head, "I don't think—" He blinked and, slowly, his eyes widened. "Neji…We need to get a hold of Naruto."

Neji tilted his head, "The Hokage? He's in Sunagakure, isn't—"

"Give me a cell phone."

* * *

Naruto woke at sunrise, due to an annoying ringing in his ears. Sleepily, he fumbled for the phone from the hotel bed and flipped it open, "Hinata, it's so early—"

"Naruto!" He blinked, suddenly awake, and sat up.

"Shikamaru? You know this number is strictly for family."

"Hyuuga Hajime and Nara Aya are gone," Naruto's eyes widened, "The Hyuuga's Byakugan…I don't know what they want with my Aya, but, Naruto, Yoinokuchi…They're going after children."


	6. Through the Mist

"_What is going on, Hokage, Kazekage?"_

Naruto and Gaara had immediately called for an emergency phone conference of the Kages after receiving the phone call from Shikamaru. Ei was visibly upset for being woken up at such an early hour, but both Meii and Oonoki were calm.

"_Is there any new information about Yoinokuchi?" _Meii asked.

"_Or Hakaisha?" _Oonoki added.

"Yes, we just received the information this morning," Gaara started, looking over at Naruto, "We discovered whom Yoinokuchi is targeting."

"_Well? Spit it out!"_

Naruto closed his eyes, "Last night, two children from Konohagakure were captured, one from the Hyuuga clan, the other from the Nara clan. One has a kekkei genkai." The other end was silent. "We believe Yoinokuchi is behind the kidnapping."

The Tsuchikage was the only one to speak up, "_As unfortunate as that is…Is it not presumptuous to believe that?"_

"There is no other reason behind their capture." Gaara added lowly.

"_No other reason? Enemy clans have been trying to get the Byakugan for decades!" _Ei retorted, "_How do you know it wasn't one of them?"_

"_If so, why would they take the girl? That would just be unnecessary…" _Meii mused before slowly adding, "_A girl from my village has been missing for a day now, but I thought nothing of it."_

"_Mizukage, I expected better of you! You can't honestly think—"_

"_Ei-san, under the circumstances, it would be wise to over analyze the situation rather than to set it aside so calmly." _Meii's voice was sharp, and Naruto and Gaara exchanged glances.

"_Kazekage," _Oonoki said with a sigh, "_do you really believe that this is Yoinokuchi's doing?"_

"Yes, I am sure of it."

The Tsuchikage cleared his throat, "_Then I agree with you. As the Commander of the Joint Shinobi Army, I trust your judgment."_

"_As do I," _Meii added, "_You led us to victory before; I have no reason to doubt you."_

Over the phone, Ei grunted, "_Let's get on with it, then…"_

Gaara nodded and looked at Naruto, "Hokage…Please inform us on what you know."

* * *

"You okay, Denkou-kun?"

"_Guh…_I don't like boats…"

Aimi felt Denkou's forehead as the ferry Zenkoku was on to cross over to Kirigakure docked. As soon as the ferry stopped, however, Denkou jumped to his feet and sprinted to the ramp onto land. Katsu raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he led the rest of the team off the ferry and, finally, into Kirigakure. "Jun, you and Denkou go find the sister." He ordered as they walked through the docks, the mist turning everything into a foggy haze.

"With pleasure." Denkou said eagerly while Jun rolled her eyes.

"Aimi, you should stock up on medical supplies while you can." She nodded.

"I'll go to the hospital, then."

Ryuu looked at Katsu.

"We'll go see the Mizukage. Lead the way, Ryuu." The Mist-nin shifted the sword strapped to his back before moving deeper into the mist and the village, Katsu following. Aimi went to the west, leaving Jun and Denkou alone.

"How the hell are we supposed to find her?" Denkou said with a scowl, "We don't even know the area."

Kirigakure was a gloomy village, to say the least. A few large, cylindrical buildings were spaced out in a mountainous area, with a thick mist surrounding the village. Jun looked up at the mountains in the far background, now understanding why Kirigakure was such a mystery to other villages: it was very well hidden.

"I'll find her." Jun said before closing her eyes. Denkou watched as she reopened them, and his own widened. "Got her." Stunned, Denkou remained silent as he followed Jun eastward.

'_Was that…No, that's not possible.'_

"May I help you?" When Jun had knocked on the door of the small house, a woman with olive skin and dark hair answered.

Jun and Denkou introduced themselves, and Cho stepped aside to let them in. After the formalities of tea, Denkou cleared his throat.

"Now, Cho-san, we know your brother Kenta and want to ask you about him." Cho put her cup of tea down on the table in the living before looking at Denkou with round, doe-like eyes.

"Is Kenta-Niisan in trouble?" Jun felt her eye twitch in annoyance when Denkou's face grew red.

"Well, now, I wouldn't say—" He fumbled and Jun stepped in.

"Cho-san, your brother is a suspect in a series of serious crimes. We need to know when you saw him last and what he was doing." The younger sister fidgeted in her seat.

"Kenta-Niisan hasn't been home in a long time…" At this, Denkou leaned forward in his seat.

"We can still smell the bleach; we know you wiped the house." Cho bit her lip.

"I didn't—"

"Cho-san, it's okay, you were just trying to help your brother." Jun said, "It would be best for him, though, if you told us everything." For a long moment Cho said nothing. Then she took a small sip of her tea and sighed.

"Kenta and his friends were here two days ago." Jun and Denkou exchanged a glance.

"Friends?" He pressed.

"Yes, another man and his little sister." Jun frowned. '_Little sister?_'

"What did this other man look like? And the girl?" Cho turned to Jun.

"The man was tall and thin, and had dark green hair, I think. The girl, well," Cho paused to remember, "She was looking down the entire time…But she had blonde hair."

"Okay…Now," Jun looked up from the small notepad she had taken out and was using, "do you know what Kenta was doing? Where he was headed?"

Cho shook her head, "He told me he just needed a place to say…Although," She put a finger to her chin, "I think they were travelling by boat. I heard Kenta talking to his friends about how they had to go to the docks."

"When did they go to the docks?" Denkou inquired, now focused.

"Uhm, the day after…So yesterday."

'_Damn…'_

"Thank you Cho-san, you've been very helpful." Jun said hurriedly as she stood, Denkou following suit. Cho blinked.

"Oh, is that all?"

"Yeah, we have to be leaving now." Jun gave a short bow, "We'll walk ourselves out."

"Oh, well, alright—"

The two rushed out of the house.

"Damn it, they probably got on a boat yesterday to who-knows-where." Denkou growled.

Jun was equally frustrated, "Most likely. Come on, we'll meet up with Aimi and wait for Katsu to come back from the Mizukage."

"He better hurry."

* * *

The Mizukage's palace was the largest and widest cylindrical building in Kirigakure; it was easy to find, especially with Ryuu leading. He strode through the front doors of the building with ease, the shinobi on duty only looking over before allowing him through. At this, Katsu was surprised; Kirigakure, he thought, was incredibly tight on security.

Ryuu looked over his shoulder as he walked up a large spiral staircase, Katsu following in deep thought. Ryuu was not sure how he felt about the Zenkoku leader; Katsu was quiet, like him, but for different reasons. Ryuu could tell.

"Ryuu, why were you able to walk through the lobby so easily?" Katsu finally asked as they reached the top floor of the palace. Ryuu paused in his walking and turned towards Katsu; the two were the same height, and neither of them looked away from each other.

"I'm one of Mizukage-sama's personal guards. I have full access." Katsu raised an eyebrow.

"I see." Ryuu looked at Katsu a moment longer before walking towards a receptionist's desk. His sandals slapped against the thin, navy blue carpet, and the receptionist looked up before he made it to the desk.

"Ah, Kawaguchi-sama, what can I do for you?"

"I need to speak with Mizukage-sama." The woman behind the desk bit her lip.

"Is it urgent? I believe she's in a phone conference at the moment—"

The double doors on the opposite side of the floor opened, and the two Zenkoku members looked over to see the fifth Mizukage in person. Meii pushed a few stray strands of blonde hair back into place before waving an idle hand at the woman, "Rei-san, cancel the rest of my appointments for today." Meii looked right at Ryuu, "Come inside."

"Yes, Mizukage-sama." Katsu cleared his throat, and Meii glanced at him before turning to enter her office.

"Yes Sand-nin, you as well."

* * *

Aimi adjusted her leg fishnets with one hand while using her other one to sweep a dozen vials of various liquids into her side pouch, the nurse watching her carefully. Aimi smiled at her, and she eventually turned back to the patients' charts as Aimi continued to adjust herself and her bag.

The thick, black sash around her waist ended with a bow right above her rear and stood out against the leaf-green, kimono-styled dress that covered her up to two inches above her knee. The dress was sleeveless, allowing for greater movement, and Aimi adored it. Subconsciously, she smoothed the fabric out as she walked out of the hospital, shifting her bag's weight evenly onto her shoulders.

She had gotten anything useful: poison antidotes, poison itself, gauze, morphine, and other medical essentials. She kept everything medical-related in a specially-lined side pouch, which she was just zipping up when she ran into them. "Jun, Denkou, you're back already?"

Jun said nothing and walked past her, eyes a bright red, straight into the hospital. Aimi blinked and looked at Denkou, who innocently rested his hands behind his head. "Denkou-kun, what did you do?" She asked with a frown.

He looked appalled, "Nothing!" Aimi furrowed her brow and he averted his eyes, "Okay, maybe I said something…But it was really a compliment."

"Like?"

"So maybe I said something about her legs." Aimi's face flushed and she quickly punched Denkou in the arm.

"_Denkou!_"

"What? _Anyway_," He scowled, "we figured out that the Yoinokuchi guys are travelling by boat." She stopped, her brain already churning. She had the best navigational knowledge in the team; she was sure she could figure out where Kenta was headed.

"I see. Let me look at a map and I can figure out some possibilities."

"Do it fast; we think they left yesterday, with a girl." Aimi frowned and looked up at him.

"What do you mean 'a girl'?"

* * *

The Mizukage sighed as she sat down in a tall chair before looking up at the two Zenkoku members, who remained standing, "Katsu-san, correct?"

"Yes."

"I suppose I should tell you, then, since the Konoha representative is not here." Meii closed her eyes and folded her hands underneath her chin. "Two children from Konoha were captured. The phone conference I was just in was with the Kages; we believe Yoinokuchi was behind the kidnapping."

Katsu's eyes narrowed, "Yoinokuchi is targeting children?"

"It appears so," Meii said reluctantly, "The children were a boy and girl from the Hyuuga and Nara clans, respectively. Hyuuga has a kekkei genkai, obviously, but as for the Nara clan…"

"They have a hidden jutsu involving the manipulation of shadows." Ryuu said lowly, "Since it's not a kekkei genkai, there should be no reason for the girl's capture."

"Perhaps she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Katsu suggested, in which both Ryuu and Meii looked at him; he understood. "They would have just killed her, then."

"Yoinokuchi wants something else, along with kekkei genkai." Meii said, "They must know something about Hakaisha that we do not."

"Have there been any recent breakthroughs?" Ryuu inquired, to which Meii shook her head. "Is anything being done about the families with kekkei genkai here?" She scowled at him.

"Who do you think I am, Ryuu? They've been placed into safe houses, and there have been no sightings of Yoinokuchi here." She paused, looked at Katsu, and then looked back at Ryuu. "However…"

Katsu noticed the Mizukage's glance, and sighed before turning towards the double doors, "I'll wait outside." Ryuu blinked.

"You don't—"

"Ryuu, let him." He looked back at the Mizukage curiously as Katsu exited the office, the doors slowly closing behind him. "We need to speak in private."

"Mizukage-sama, what's happening?" Ryuu asked slowly, watching as she stood from her chair and walked over to a window that overlooked the village. With her back facing him, she closed her eyes and sighed.

"Sakuno is missing." His eyes flashed, but he remained calm.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." Meii said quickly, "Weren't you suspicious when she didn't greet you at the gates? You're like a brother to her; she always knows when you come back."

"I thought there were no sightings—"

"There aren't any. I don't know how they got her," Meii said quietly, finally turning to face him, "She was in the best renovated safe house. There was no way they could have even sensed her chakra."

Ryuu ran a hand through his dark blue hair, ending with a fist at the back of his neck, "How long has she been missing?"

"Two days. Ryuu, I'm not asking you as your Mizukage, I'm asking you as a friend," Meii made eye contact, "Please, bring my niece home."


	7. Careful

Denkou, Jun, and Aimi were outside the Mizukage's palace when Katsu and Ryuu exited. The team immediately grouped together.

"Katsu, Kenta is with another man and a young girl." Jun said breathlessly. Ryuu's head jerked towards her.

"What did she look like?"

"Blonde hair, that's all we know." Everyone saw Ryuu's jaw clench, and Katsu glanced at him.

"Yoshiko Sakuno. They probably used a henge on her hair, but it has to be her; Mizukage-sama reported her missing and suspects Yoinokuchi." His voice was lower than usual, "She has a kekkei genkai."

"The sister said they were travelling by boat and that they left already." Jun looked at Ryuu, "Sorry, but I think we already lost the trail."

"We now have three children missing," Katsu sighed, "Apparently two were taken from Konoha the other day. One is a Hyuuga, the other a Nara." It was Jun's turn to tense, but she said nothing. "There's no trail on those two either. Our best chance to find out anything is to go to Amegakure; there've been multiple Yoinokuchi sightings there."

"I can map out the route in fifteen—"

"What about the docks?" Aimi was surprised when Ryuu interrupted. He, however, merely stared at Katsu, "We should check the docks." Katsu was unfazed.

"If they left yesterday they're long gone by now, it would be a waste of time."

"Someone has to remember them."

"That's enough, Ryuu." Ryuu's eyes flashed when Katsu fully turned to face him. "We're going to Amegakure."

Jun and Denkou watched in silence as the two glared at one another. The two youngest Zenkoku members could feel the static in the air. Aimi bit her lip and slipped in-between the two, "Katsu-san, Ryuu, now's not the time—"

"I know why you were put in charge," Ryuu contemplated, "but I'm going to investigate the docks." Aimi's eyes widened at the return of his composure, but still pressed her hands against his chest in a subtle attempt to ease the tension.

"Ryuu—"

"Then go." Katsu declared, "If you're not back by the time we're ready to go, you can stay in Kirigakure. I don't have time to baby you."

Ryuu bit the inside of his cheek and looked down, just realizing that Aimi was pressing against him. He swiftly took her wrists to move her hands away before running towards the docks. She watched him until he rounded a corner, and then finally let out the breath she had been holding. She looked over at Jun and Denkou and knelt on the ground before taking a map out of her bag.

Katsu hovered behind her, not bothering to look over at the two as he spoke. "This is why Ryuu is second-in-command and you two are not. Go get us a ferry that leaves in ten."

* * *

Gaara stiffly sat in a chair at home, brow furrowed. Yume peeked into his study from the hallway, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, "I was going to bring Sho to the Council meeting with me." His wife blinked before stepping into the room.

"And?"

He glanced at her, "He wasn't in his room." She sighed and strode over, standing behind his chair so she could wrap her arms around his shoulders.

"He's just going through a phase…Remember when we were his age?" She added with a smile and he tilted his head back to look at her.

"Yume…Does Sho…Hate me?" He did not expect the slap to his face. Bewildered, he felt his cheek and followed her movements with his head as she stopped in front of him.

"How could you ever say that? Sho loves you, Gaara. We're a family." Her eyes were watering and he closed his eyes as he stood. He had never gotten used to being referred to as a family, and when he opened his arms so she could walk into him, he realized that he had never gotten used to this either.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh shut up, I'm just being emotional." Yume scolded, pressing her face into his chest. "Sho's been gone all day, Gaara…" He removed his chin from atop her pate and looked down at her.

"What do you mean?" He wiped the tears from her cheeks when she finally moved her face towards him.

"Gaara, I'm worried…"

* * *

An olive-skinned man with a shaved head kicked roughly at the tide as he scowled, "God damn it, what's taking them so long?" Another man with glasses rolled his eyes.

"We've been here for ten minutes, relax."

"Shut up Isao." The man with the shaved head looked over at his teammate before glancing at her, "Why didn't you bind her?" Isao blinked before realizing what his partner was talking about and also looked down at the girl. She stood silently on the sand, her pupils fully dilated and her brown hair whipping around her face with the wind. For a thirteen year-old, she was pretty. Isao would have to watch Kenta when around her.

"Her body is completely numb to her now. I'm surprised she can stand." Kenta paced towards her and roughly grabbed her chin to tilt her face up. Isao's shoulders tensed as Kenta examined her face intently before looking over at him.

"What's her kekkei genkai?"

"Shiroi Moufu_._ It appears to be a medical-jutsu." Kenta grunted and dropped her chin.

"Sounds useless."

"Talking about yourself again, eh, Kenta?" The two looked out at the sea just as a small wooden boat scraped up against the sand, three people inside. The man that Kenta was glaring at hopped off the boat, a body slung over his shoulder.

"Koudo…" Kenta growled as the slightly taller man with teal hair strode towards him. "You killed him?"

Koudo laughed and jolted his shoulder, in which the body jumped. "Nah, he actually fought back, had to bring 'im down a few notches." Isao stepped behind Koudo to examine the boy.

"This is the Kazekage's son, then?"

"Yes." All three turned back; they had forgotten about him, the youngest member. The lean blonde descended from the boat. He was the only one that wore the emblem around his neck like a scarf, while the others kept it either around arms or legs. His eyes were gray, almost like silver, and Isao could not hold his gaze. "He has the Sensoujuu, he manipulates wires and steel."

"Natsu-san." Isao mumbled in greeting; there was an unspoken rivalry between the two. In fact, Isao was not sure if Natsu realized it himself.

Koudo shifted the boy's weight again, "Well, come on, I don't wanna carry this guy all day."

Kenta grumbled incoherent words to himself as Koudo handed the boy over. Isao looked over at the girl; she still had not moved. Natsu had been looking at her as well.

"Knock her out." He said fluidly, "The seal on the crate will interfere with the Genjutsu." Isao nodded and proceeded forward. He jabbed the side of his hand against her neck. Her eyes fluttered before she began to fall. Isao caught her and carried her under his arm like a rug to the boat, where Kenta was already dumping the boy into the crate. Isao placed her inside, a little too carefully, and his partner noticed.

"What the hell? Just drop her in."

"Just because I'm a part of this organization doesn't mean I'm going to become a barbarian." Isao deducted as he slid the top over the crate, putting the seal into effect. Kenta scowled, but held back his fists. He could feel Natsu's eyes on them.

"You know where to go." Natsu confirmed, "Koudo and I will go along as planned."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Kenta mumbled, pushing the boat back out into the sea before jumping in. Isao grabbed a paddle with a sigh; this way they would float by undetected, but it would be a long trip.

Once the boat began its journey, Natsu turned to his partner, "Let's go."

* * *

Ryuu sat silently on one of the benches of the ferry, his sword balancing on his thighs. No one had seen Kenta at the docks; no ships were even reported leaving yesterday. It had been a slow day. Ryuu shifted on the bench, restless, and looked over at Katsu. The leader was standing at the railing of the ferry, his elbows resting on it as he gazed out at the sea.

Ryuu was embarrassed of himself. He had never disobeyed a superior until now, even though it was under special circumstances. He observed Aimi as she stopped next to Katsu before closing his eyes.

She was strange to him.

"Oi." He opened one eye to Jun standing in front of him. "Sleeping?"

"No." She straightened up, hands on her hips as usual. Ryuu examined her as well; she was petite and slender, and a good five inches shorter than him. Her legs seemed incredibly long due to her shorts that, in his mind, were too short.

"Listen…" He looked at her face; her eyes were brown. "Don't worry about Kenta so much, we'll find him."

Ryuu remained silent and turned his head to the side. Jun sighed and made her retreat back to front of the ferry.

The ride back to land would take another thirty minutes, and she had already grown tired of Denkou. Katsu and Ryuu both weren't making conversation with anyone, and Aimi just constantly walked back and forth from the two. Jun was bored. The only thought that kept her sane was that she would be back on her Crawler soon, but even that thought was somewhat tainted. She assumed Denkou would be riding with her again and she cringed.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Yuu glanced up at the setting sun before pulling the reins on the two horses that were pulling the caravan wagon. They slowed to a stop and Yuu looked over his shoulder into the wagon, "Ichigo, bring them outside." Inside the wagon, Ichigo stood up and eyed the large crate that was held down to the wagon floor by two thick leather straps.

They had been traveling for a full day; it was time to eat.

Ichigo strode over to the crate, listening as he heard Yuu jump down and tend the horses. He would have never chosen to travel back to the hideout like this, the smell of horse waste ever present. However, if they had used any vehicles that required chakra, they would be tracked easily. Ichigo undid one strap with a swift motion of his right hand; the bladed knuckle he wore easily slipped through the leather.

Ichigo moved to undo the other strap after checking that the children's chakra signals were still moderately low, only for the top of the crate to burst open.

Hajime thrust his palm towards Ichigo's face, but his arm was easily knocked away by the man's elbow. Hajime twisted his leg and made brief contact with Ichigo's upper thigh. At the contact, Ichigo spun his body away and got a hold of Hajime's ankle as his leg was dropping. He smirked as he used the momentum to propel the Genin into the tarp of the wagon, ripping it. Hajime flew through the air and crashed into the ground. Momentarily blinded by the sudden light after hours of darkness, Hajime took an extra second to stand up, but it was just enough.

Ichigo had both bladed knuckles against Hajime's neck as he appeared from behind and pressed the blades into the boy's skin. "Not bad." He murmured into Hajime's ear, "I'm surprised you even had the energy to ambush me."

"_Kage Mane no Jutsu_." Ichigo's body tensed for a moment and Hajime smirked as he lowered his bladed knuckles.

"What is this?" Ichigo scowled as his body stepped back from Hajime, his eyes sweeping over the deserted dirt road. Finally, he spotted her.

"Phew, I got lucky. The sun is still out." Aya declared from the side of the wagon. She placed a hand on her hip, and Ichigo watched as he did the same. "I can't believe you forgot about me! You really fell for it."

"Nice work, Nara. Now," Hajime turned to Ichigo, "who are you? This seems too elaborate of a scheme if you're just trying to get the Byakugan."

Ichigo let out a chuckle, "My, aren't you smart. It's always the intellectuals who lack in common sense." Hajime frowned and shared a glance with Aya; he knew she couldn't hold the jutsu for much longer. Then again, she didn't need to.

"Hajime!"

* * *

"Naruto." The Hokage snored loudly in response. Gaara examined the hotel room that Naruto was staying in during the visit. It was mostly untouched due to him never being inside. The two had spent long hours together, meticulously planning out some sort of strategy. During the emergency Kage phone conference, he and Naruto were given higher authority for the time being due to Naruto's personal knowledge of Kakou and Gaara's proven leadership abilities. As Gaara turned back to Naruto's sleeping form, he wondered what exactly Naruto knew.

"Gaara, what do you want?" His lips turned upward for a moment; he knew his friend had been awake. Naruto sat up from the bed, glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand and groaned, "I missed dinner!"

"We need to talk." Gaara's tone was low, and Naruto looked up with complete sincerity.

"What's up?"

The Kazekage hesitated before taking a seat in a chair next to the bed. He averted his eyes to the bed sheets and sighed, "Sho's gone." Naruto blinked rapidly before springing from the bed; he was still fully clothed.

"Gaara—"

"I'm leaving the military forces of Suna under your control." The blonde's shoulders slackened. Gaara looked up, aquamarine meeting cerulean. "I'm leaving tonight."

"Gaara, you can't! I know if I were you, I would do the same but you have to protect Suna." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, "That's why you became Kazekage, remember?"

"That's before I became a father." Gaara stood, "I only came here to officially pass the power to you."

"I'm a father, too, damn it!" Gaara blinked in awe when Naruto grabbed him by the front of his shirt in tight fists. Naruto's teeth were clenched and his eyes afire. "It's killing me, Gaara, having to tell Shikamaru and Neji to stay home when their children are out there. And I'm ripping myself apart just telling you not to go, but I have to. The villages have to be our priority; if we abandon them, what is that saying to our kids?"

"Your children aren't out there." Gaara's voice was layered carefully with anger.

"_But they could be. _Don't you get it? You can't abandon Suna; without you, more people could be taken." He reasoned, but Gaara shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Naruto." The two stared at each other. Naruto's fists shook. Gaara's face remained stoic. Finally, the fists dropped.

"You don't even have any leads, do you?"

"I haven't turned into you." Naruto stifled a chuckle. "It was Yoinokuchi. Sho was outside the village training and never came back." He nodded before turning away.

"What are you still doing here, then?" Gaara's mouth turned into a smile at Naruto's back, but when Naruto looked over his shoulder, the Kazekage was gone.

* * *

Hajime sensed it. He turned on his heel and just blocked the giant spear with both arms raised to the right side of his head. The dark-skinned man was eerily calm as he pressed the spear harder into Hajime's arms, still focused on his neck as the target. "You're the one…"

He made eye contact with Hajime, and the boy was taken aback; the man had the clearest blue eyes he had ever seen. "Surrender or I will injure you." The dark-skinned man said smoothly, but Hajime pushed back just as hard.

"_Hakkeshou Kaiten_!" With a sudden burst of chakra, Hajime smacked the spear to the side and spun wildly. Yuu jumped back from the chakra vortex, but after watching for a second, timed his movement just right. Aya watched in awe as Yuu fluidly stabbed his spear, surrounded by its own whirling chakra, through Hajime's defense. The Hyuuga let out a gasp as the swirling chakra dug into his flesh with the spear, and he stumbled forward.

"_Hajime!"_ Yuu thrust the blade another inch into Hajime's shoulder, just enough to cause him to fall onto his knees.

The Yoinokuchi member did not turn to Aya at all, "Release him, or I will sever the boy's arm." Aya's head dropped and she stared at the long shadow that connected her to Ichigo.

"…Okay." When the shadow split in two, Ichigo was at her side almost simultaneously. She was pushed to the ground, where she moved her face to the side so she could see Hajime. He barely glanced at her before falling onto his stomach as well. "Hajime…"

Yuu yanked his spear from Hajime's shoulder and balanced it on his shoulders, "He's alive. He's no use dead." Aya grunted when Ichigo stomped his foot onto her back.

"You are a devious little girl, aren't you?" Her arms were yanked behind her and sealed in something made of steel.

"What the hell do you two want?" She snarled as he pulled her up.

"All we wanted was to feed you." He was just as calm as the other one, and it made Aya uneasy. There was something wrong with these two.

Ichigo dumped her back into the wagon while Yuu did the same with Hajime after wrapping his wound; it was bleeding steadily. They were thrown two loaves of bread after Ichigo completely surrounded the inside of the wagon with metal wires. Aya examined them for a moment before scooting over to Hajime, whose eyes fluttered open at the sounds.

"Good, you're okay." She said, relieved. Hajime only frowned.

"He penetrated my defense and knew my blind spot. These two are not average shinobi." He added disdainfully as he sat up, looking at the bread. Grudgingly, he grabbed a loaf and bit into it. While chewing, he noticed Aya's restrictions and shoved the other loaf into her mouth.

"Mhnnf!"

"Chew. We have to sustain ourselves in any way possible." Hajime said, holding a loaf in each hand. Aya swallowed.

"Rip off smaller pieces, jerk!"

"Quiet or I will bind your mouth as well." There was something about Yuu's voice that made Aya's skin crawl and she subconsciously scooted closer to Hajime.

"It's all right, he's outside the wagon." They made eye contact; his Byakugan was activated, so she could actually make out his pupil. After a second he looked down at his legs, which were restrained by thick metal chains. He attempted to move them, but only succeeded in wiggling. "They left my arms alone." He thought aloud and he touched the metal with his hand; an electrical shock went straight up his arm and he hissed, pulling away.

"Stop that." Hajime glanced back up at Aya, whose dark eyes were set on his face.

"We have to get out somehow." She quickly averted her eyes when they made eye contact again.

"Yeah, well, we're not gonna get far if you keep hurting yourself."

"I'm fine."

"You can't even move your arm!" Hajime scowled at her.

"You can't move much yourself." Aya rolled her eyes.

"That's different. You're hurt. Just eat your stupid bread." He ripped a chunk of bread off of the loaf and shoved it into Aya's mouth, again.

"I can still move _this _arm." He could not resist the smirk and she, not thinking, kicked at his legs. She choked on the bread when the voltage spread throughout her lower half and fell onto her side. He blinked, "…You okay?"

"Fuck you." She grumbled and he chuckled; she was fine. "Hajime."

"Hn?"

She remained on her side, blonde hair spilling onto the floor of the wagon. He watched her body rise and fall from breathing until she spoke again, "The dark guy…He said you weren't any use dead. I don't know what is going on, but they need us alive."

Hajime sighed, "I know. That's what worries me even more."


End file.
